REHAB THE LAB

Rehab the Lab: Creating Safer School Labs

Program Services

During visits to secondary schools in King County, program staff have found stockpiles of unneeded hazardous chemicals, incompatible chemicals stored together, improper disposal of hazardous wastes and poor chemical hygiene practices. These hazardous chemicals and their related issues are found in science labs, arts and crafts studios and storage rooms, photo labs, and custodial closets. To help improve chemical management in these programs we offer these services.

Rehab the Lab Resources

Lab Safety Videos
Four short videos provide information on managing hazardous laboratory chemicals, responding to spills, properly storing and labeling chemicals, and disposing of chemicals safely and legally when they’re no longer needed.

Least-toxic chemistry labs
This collection of fully-scripted, least-toxic chemistry labs is ready for use by high school chemistry teachers. The set includes student and teacher guides and meets the Washington State Educational Learning Requirements

School Chemical List
A searchable database of more than 1,000 school chemicals provides information on hazards arising from acute or chronic exposures. It also describes proper chemical storage, the usefulness of chemicals in lab experiments, recommended maximum grade levels, and proper disposal of waste or leftover chemicals. The database can create an EXCEL spreadsheet that can be used as the school’s chemical inventory.

Science Lab Safety Checklist
The Science Classroom and Lab Reference is a resource designed to help schools comply with health and safety practices required by code and incorporate recommended guidelines to ensure prudent practices. The Reference is designed for online use or to be downloaded and used as a checklist during annual safety inspections.

Safely Storing Chemicals in Small Spaces(PDF)
A proper chemical storage system separates materials according to chemical compatibility and hazard class. Many schools try to use the excellent chemical storage system found in Flinn Scientific's catalog. Unfortunately, many school stockrooms are too small to provide 23 separated locations for classes of chemicals. The downloadable chart combines categories of chemicals that have similar hazardous characteristics. By doing so, you will only need 12 separate storage locations.